Discovering the Ursine

by **Tinnok** on November 9th, 2013, 3:56 pm

Discovering the Ursine

50th of Fall, 513 AV

There was nothing more exciting than exploring a new part of the jungle that she had never seen. Some barbaric imbeciles might see the Jungle Wilds of Falyndar as a humid maze of greenery, one patch quite the same as the next, but they would be fools, for every square acre of Falyndar was unique from its cousins, tropical forests leading into the cloud forests, arid scrub land that didn’t receive as much rain because of looming mountains, some so high you could actually get chills in the middle of summer…if you climbed high enough. Near the coast the ocean mixed with the jungle creating mangrove swamps, and inlets that housed all sorts of wildlife that steered away from thick jungles, and Tinnok had only begun to scratch the surface of her own biome without trying to encroach upon others.

So perhaps that was why the which was so particularly peppy as she scaled the great jungle trees of her wilds and swung from branch to branch, leaping up, climbing using the available branches, and occasionally practicing with her morphed claws, letting her djed flow up through her skin, sinking down into her toes and fingers and emerging as those wondrous claws that let her scale the massive flora that she used to traverse Caiyha’s diverse domain.

And she was in a new area. Tinnok had heard tales of the Grave of Behemoths, on the edge of Falyndar territory where the land was populated by thick and tall grass instead of trees, and it was the site that all Tskanna wild or domesticated, went to die. The idea fascinated her on multiple levels. She knew the minds of many animals, surprisingly complex when compared with their sentient brethren, but it seemed oddly thoughtful to have an unspoken place to die, like birds who knew to fly to Falyndar for the cold winters even though they had never done it before. Would this idea still work if a Tskanna had led its entire life alone, never seeing another of its kind wander off due to its old age? She had to wonder.

But it was also a site of great worship to her Mother Goddess, and as a bonus, was far from both Zinrah and Taloba, two places which Tinnok wanted little to do with, or the creatures that inhabited them. She was her own being now, and wished to separate herself as much as possible from their influence, so the trek seemed like a perfectly good plan.

And it led to places such as this, where the trees were unfamiliar, and birds that did not know her flitted by her in curious and swooping dives as the being they knew was connected to the land entered their section of the jungles.

A toucan cackled at her inquisitively from up on high, but Tinnok knew she needed to make ground today, not stop to chat with her avian neighbors if she wanted to make good time towards her destination. The wilds of Falyndar were vast and she had a lot of land to cover. She heard distant shrieks of howler monkeys stating their territory to a rival gang, and the calls of tree frogs hiding in wet spots under leaves and within the warm comfort of bromeliads.

The sounds were familiar, simply different variations, but she noticed certain differences as well. The hues of moss were changed, certain flowers were still in bloom that would usually not be during this time in Taloba, and she saw one or two plants she had never seen before. She wanted to go ground ward, to explore this new territory from below, but held back. New lands meant new dangers as well, and she did not want to be caught by surprise as she had so many times in the past.

So she stayed up in the trees. It was not always easy, moving from branch to branch, traversing the gaps between trees with leaps of faith and chance were not her favorite, and she could only imagine what the males of Taloba would think of her scarred and cut legs, which looked like a warzone from the amount of time she had crashed through branches, landed upon them wrong or cut herself here or there. Her acrobatics were good, improving every day, but her body was still too large and ungainly to be made for this kind of travel. She just had to keep working through her mistakes. Even now she took a running leap off of a bowing branch, slowly growing more confident with how much weight a tree branch could truly take before snapping. Her legs bent and her arms reached outward, sliding smoothly around an overlapping branch, her weight making the new hand hold bend, but not snap before she let go and landed with a light thump on a thicker place below.

She continued at this pace for a few more bells, taking in new sights and sounds, but not allowing herself to stop…until she found herself up in a tree with no neighbors close by enough for her to jump. She was approaching a small hill, steep, and somewhat rocky that led up to an area she could not see. She wondered if perhaps the hill dipped down and made a valley, perhaps that spot could be useful for scouting her surroundings. Either way, it seemed a legitimate reason for getting down from her perch, and the half breed climbed slowly down, rather grateful to feel the soft earth beneath her calloused toes when she hit the ground.

She rested for a couple chimes, taking a long swig of her water skin, chewing on a strip of dried mango thoughtfully as she assessed the climb, then set right in, taking a running jog to the initial base of the incline, and powering up the rocks, arms pumping, breath heaving after a short distance due to the steepness. Her body bent, and because of the incline she was on all fours soon, climbing her way up instead of running. She didn’t allow herself the time to look down or pause, as it was not so hard a climb as she thought herself deserving of such a thing.

Within five chimes of vigorous climbing her fingers curled around a small ledge and heaved her body up upon the rocks, eyes peering around warily in case something unpleasant was waiting for her at the top. Seeing as there was nothing but moss and scrubs, the witch pulled herself up fully and laid out upon her belly, slowly standing. She dashed forward to the edge of the rise, looking out across the expanse of green tree tops that made a blanket, dipping downward like she had suspected.

She saw something she did not expect, however, in the form of a clearing at the base of this valley, and in the middle of it was a stone structure. She wasn't sure from this distance but it looked like a piece of a wall, light grey and thick, but with no angles or dimensions to it. Maybe at one time it had been a structure and it had simply collapse, she wasn't quite sure, but it was nestled protectively in this little vale, and she was determined to find out what it was.

by **Tinnok** on November 9th, 2013, 8:32 pm

She practically sprinted down into the valley. Her previously cautious and survival laden thoughts overcome with a bounding sense of curiosity to discover what this structure was and to illuminate it's purpose in the middle of the foliage.

Her feet careened down the slope, more than once tripping over a root or rock, barely catching herself on branches to keep from tumbling headfirst down the long slope that led to the base of the valley. Her quiver and pack bounced rhythmically against her back as she went, eyes always trained upon her goal.

The first thing she noticed when her pace slowed, seeming to lose speed as the steepness of the incline leveled out, was that there were no large trees near the strange wall. Creeping Kudzu vines, giant ferns, and bushes of all varieties had climbed up the slope and overtaken the land, but no giant trees, creating a bald spot in the middle of the umbrella of foliage she had traveled through to reach her destination. Now that she was closer the half breed could also see that the structure was crumbling, and in ruins. Of course that came as no surprise, surely the thing had been abandoned for centuries, as it was clear by the amount of flora no one had attempted to stem back the voracious tide of growth that had consumed the stone.

But that still didn't answer her most pressing question, that of the wall's purpose, so she marched up, shoving aside leaves and branches to wrestle her way closer to the wall, hardened soles passing over small sections of broken rock as she went.

The wall stood about 15 feet high in it's center, sloping downward to meet with the ground on either side, which was where the majority of the crumbling was taking place. One whole slope had been decimated by series of vines that crept along the front of the wall, green feelers sinking into and expounding upon any cracks they could find. Tinnok approached the wall, stepping right up to it's face, and could see well worn indents in its surface. She squinted to make out their identity, for with the sun high above her, a certain glare reflected off of the smooth stone. In some places the stone had fallen away, in some places a dialogue which looked like Myrian, simply an archaic form was dug deep into the rock. In other places, images were carved instead, the faint remnants of what must have been paint used to give color to the wall remained. The Half breed imagined the wall must have been beautiful when it was first completed. Surely this area was cleared from trees specifically for what she could only assume was a monument of some kind, erected hear and dutifully carved and written upon in service to the memory or history of something, though she still wasn't sure what.

Peering at the writing, Tinnok could make out the word 'mother' and 'beasts' another word associated with the beast word that she wasn't familiar with. Perhaps this was an old shrine to Caiyha? She had seen monuments to her of varying shapes and sizes over the years. Some were simply crude carvings on strange stacks of stones, others intricate webs of vines and leaves creating small shelters for the devout. This, would be one of the bigger examples she had seen, but as she turned to look for more evidence she nearly tripped over a partially eroded stone statue of a creature she had never seen before. It had a broad short snout and rounded ears, or more correctly, ear since one was long gone. The carving depicted thick fur, like a sloths, and stubby legs, with sharp claws protruding from them. It looked like a strange stocky dog, with no tail, and Tinnok found herself walking slowly around the carving, perplexed. This was surely not a creature of the jungle, or at least not one she had ever heard of.

Turning back to the carving she went to the center, where surely some explanation must lie. Eyes focusing upon the carvings there she found a woman, depicted tall and broad of shoulder like a Myrian, but at her side was another of these creatures, who must be massive from the depiction on the stone, either that or the woman was actually really small...Tinnok decided to assume the former as opposed to the latter, and continued looking at the scribed words to the side of the woman. Some were worn away, but below her feet and whatever the stocky creatures was a deeper set of etching, larger and bold. 'Oriana Mother of-' Tinnok was unfamiliar with the last word, and sounded it aloud.

"Bahrs?" So that must be the creature then, a bear. Perhaps they were native to the places where water froze and fell from the sky, it seemed best for creatures with such thick fur after all. If that were so, then what was this shrine doing here?

Tinnok set down her back pack and weapons, though she left her daggers on either hip, and rummaged through her pack to find her Dhani skin journal, removing it and flipping through the pages to find a blank section. Removing a stick of charcoal, she started at the far left section of wall, or...what was left of it, and proceeded to the right, slowly. She would uncover the mysteries of this Oriana here and now.

by **Tinnok** on November 12th, 2013, 3:40 pm

"In the begging there was a being, the Mother of All Life who spread her love across the land. Where barren soil - - - - birthing lay, plants sprung up from the dried cracked earth, Makutsi and - rained down thunderous storms upon the soil, and as creatures began to stalk within the wilds, so too Caiyha's children reigned over them. She was not only the Mother of Bears, but the guardian of all Mothers, past, present, and future. Her name, Oriana.

She traveled the - - - - of the land, for her bear children inhabited every corner of the globe, the chill winter climbs the - - - -, even the deserts hot and dry had their own breeds of the ursine. - - - - - - and her wrath was great to those who disrespected her and her children. She walked side by side with the largest of bears, not a Goddess, yet not a - - either.

Myrians were fierce mothers, and attracted Oriana on occasion. Even if they identified closer - - - - than bears, they learned that there was no fiercer guardian of her cubs than the Bear Mother. - - - - - - - - - - like Navre, respected and worshiped throughout the clan, who lived up in the mountains of the wilds. A great illness fell upon them brought by - - - - - and their medicine did not help, did not cure it. No one died, but no children could be born, and years passed without - - - -. One woman, went up high into the mountains, where no amount of Syna's light could keep the slopes warm. She climbed and climbed and climbed and there she found four bear cubs, their mother - - - - -. They were starved, and wild, but the woman brought them back to her clan. When she returned she was scarred from claw marks, and weak like the cubs. She declared they would raise the cubs as the children they couldn't have, and they -.

Years later the cubs were grown into large bears. They hunted with the clan, were treated as family, and though they could not fully replace the loss of life the clan had suffered, they were content in their isolated home. It was a day celebrating Oriana that she came - - - - and with the greatest bear any of the clan had ever seen to join the festivities. She thanked the clan for their sacrifices and courage, and though she didn't have the power to cure the illness of their tribe, she bestowed a cub upon each mother whose opportunity at rearing a child had been lost, and marked her most devout followers with a sense of smell as keen as any animals.

Over the years the members of the clan died off one by one, unable to create any children. Long deceased, the bears raised and given by Oriana, are said to still roam the highest mountains, however, given - - - - - - - - - - - -."

Tinnok leaned back, her hand having cramped from all of the writing she had done. She stared at her journal, looking at the blank spaces where she couldn't translate or the words were shorn away by rain and wear of the jungle. It was a sad tale, a clan extinct because of such an illness, yet she supposed the moral of the story was that new life goes on no matter if others died. She wondered if the story had any truth to it. Perhaps there were bears living up high, higher than the cloud forests, up in the alpine peaks where it was barren of foliage except for scrub, and rocky instead of smooth. She had heard tales of Myrians venturing high up into the world just to glimpse what it was like, but they were all second hand telling of second hand stories, surely exaggerated.

"Oriana." She mused. Mother of bears and mothers. The half breed looked up to the sky, wondering where such a powerful being could be at this moment in time.

by **Tinnok** on November 13th, 2013, 8:03 pm

She knew she should move on, that her path was laid out before her and that it would take time. The more she walked and the farther the better, but Tinnok felt herself staying bells near the ruined wall dedicated to the Bear Mother, daughter of her own Mother Goddess. It resonated deeply with her in many ways. At this moment she could have a child forming in her stomach, not yet having felt the affects of her union with Mamuro, and perhaps this wall was a sign to her from Oriana herself. If that was the case, however, she was entirely unsure of the particulars of such a message, which was why she struggling now. There were other words, perhaps stories or simply prayers written upon the wall, but from those she could only get a few clipped sentences or choice words, so worn and crumbling was the wall. The central story, however, was probably the most important part of the monument, so Tinnok considered herself lucky for at least being able to translate most of that.

She decided to spend a night here before moving on. She had been making good time after all, so perhaps a rest was not un-earned. Feeling strange setting up a fire in front of the monument, disturbing the slowly creeping foliage that sought to over-take the great shrine, Tinnok went around on the back side of the wall, which did not have any writing or faded pictures, and began to make camp there. She spent a bell clearing away the foliage, making sure it would be safe for a small fire, digging a small moat around her miniature fire pit, and collecting a sizable pile of dried sticks, twigs and dead vines to use as fuel. She assembled the kindling in her pit and spent a few chimes trying to ignite a spark from steel upon flint, the fire going out once due to the breezes that could sweep across the tree less hill before getting the fire to stay long enough.

It strengthened after eating a dead liana vine that she felt confident piling on a decent amount of wood. Once the fire was hot and steady enough Tinnok covered the center of the pit with a long flat piece of stone that must have slid off of the monument. It reached both side, creating a flat surface for Tinnok to cook upon once it was properly heated. Feeding a few more sticks under the stone, Tinnok did some local foraging for any plants to add to the meal she was planning. She knew little of herbalism, but a few plants she knew from childhood, and it was easy to spot the bright yellow lemons on their curving tree that took advantage of the lack of giant trees that would normally over shadow its minute form. Tinnok took three of the lemons from the tree before returning to camp where she sliced an umbrella leaf off of its stem and began slicing away at the leaf to form a pot of sorts for her meal. She cut small incision in the plant, folding them into each other to form a square shaped bowl.

To test how it would hold water, Tinnok summoned up her res and poured the silvery substance from her palm into the center of the bowl, willing it into water and holding the construction up for inspection. She saw drops collect at one corner of the bowl and slowly drip out, but this wasn't a large enough of a problem to the novice cook to try to fix. She then place the bowl upon the now heated rock table, and began rummaging through her pack. She rarely dipped into her store of smoked meat as she was perfectly capable of getting meat for herself upon her journey. Tonight, however, she hadn't the time nor the will to go out on a hunt, so she removed two strips of the meat and cut them up into small pieces, throwing them into her leaf bowl of water. Noticing that the amount of liquid she had wasn't that much, Tinnok decided to utilize her reimancy once more. It seemed strange using your own essence to create water. Did that meant hat she was really drinking...herself? As if she was sipping on her own blood? She contemplated this a moment, but decided it was a philosophical problem for another time, and added another dollop of her res, filtering it slowly from her opposite palm this time and turning it into water as it fell form her hand, watching the magical quality as the silver res turned into water, joining it's brethren.

Approving of the amount of liquid now in the bowl, Tinnok began slicing up two of the lemons, the rinds she shaved off, crushing unde rthe hilt of her knife before throwing them into her strange soup, and the juice she squeezed in for flavor, eating the remains, but keeping the seeds from both fruits and sliding them into a side pouch of her pack for later use. The third lemon went into her pack with the pieces of dried mango. It would have to be consumed swiftly, but a day off the branch wouldn't harm its quality, and it would make the perfect snack when she was walking tomorrow...if a sour one.

Tinnok then sat back, adding more wood to her fire and waiting for the water to absorb the flavor of the smoked meat and lemon, creating a strange broth for her meal.

by **Tinnok** on November 14th, 2013, 4:09 pm

It was dark by the time the strange stew was done. Tinnok removed the rock itself from over the fire to let it cool, taking another piece of the rubber leaf and coiling it around the bowl before setting it before her. It smelled mostly just like lemon, but she wouldn't know until she tried it. She blew on the broth for a few chimes, then took a cautious sip. It still burned her tongue, searing down her throat.

She choked on the taste a bit, for it was quite sour, but she got a chunk of the meat, marinating in the water and lemon juice, and it had an almost sweet tang on her tongue before she swallowed it. Tinnok shifted, legs folded within themselves, slowly drinking the broth as she watched the stars pop into the sky one by one.

"I always wonder which Gods and Goddesses can hear me when I talk to them." Tinnok began.

"I mean you are a child of Caiyha, and so am I. Perhaps you would not like it, me calling you a sister, I mean I only just learned of you today, so that would be understandable. I know I can speak with Caiyha through the plants, the animals. I imagine Myri could hear me every time I sliced open a Dhani, or prayed for her strength upon a hunt. I am not sure...where you are, or if you can hear me, maybe because you hear the prayers of all mothers, or all the voices that call to you..." She paused searching.

"Perhaps I'm just talking to the night sky because you aren't as powerful as Caiyha- er, I mean I don't mean to insult your power, I mean bears seem like fearsome creatures, but I...alright I'm just going to assume you can hear me." She grimaced at her own folly, half expecting Oriana to smite her with a giant bear paw immediately, but that did not happen, so she continued.

"I suppose I shouldn't bore you with the tale of my life. It's not...a joyous one, though it certainly could have gone much worse, at...certain turns. I have my own mother to thank for not smiting me in her womb, and my clan elder to thank for not killing me the instant they saw my eyes at birth." She paused. "With Siku as the exception I hold all of Caiyha's children high in reverence, even if Navre and his children have never taken kindly to me, I seem to more easily attract canine than feline companions." She smiled softly.

"So I suppose that brings me to the how and why of this conversation. You are guardian of mothers...and I...well. I never thought of being a mother save for guarding and taking care of the creatures and plants of the wilds over which Caiyha granted me, but...I might have a child in my womb now, and I fear for it." She leaned back against the stone structure made in Oriana's image.

"If it were born, if it is there, it will be 3/4's Dhani, 1/4 Myrian. Like me it would not be able to transform, it would be even more of an abomination to the people who raised me, and it's own kind of unique monstrous quality to the Dhani of Zinrah. I know why the Dhani who wants my child wanted it, or...at least have some idea, but I would ask you, beg of you Oriana, to save this child the burden of a life perhaps even worse than mine own. I cannot be the mother it needs, I am not ready...for I know it would be in mortal danger constantly if it was with me, and I am afraid of what life it would face if given to Mamuro to hold onto." She gazed off to the side. "Perhaps I should not have risked such an event, but I wished not to be like a Dhani, by keeping my word, for I am Myrian, and I am snake..." Thumb and forefinger rubbed the bridge of her nose in contemplation. "And I think this is why I found your shrine. Perhaps it would be...foolish of me to think you guided me here by your own hand...or paw, seeing as how we have only just met, but the signs seem too strong, so I would beg of you...I will continue being the guardian of this jungle, but I truly couldn't bear the thought of my own child having to run like I have from both races of the wilds."

She bowed her head low, and spent the remainder of the night somewhere between meditation and sleep. Her mind drifted in and out of consciousness, but when it was lucid she was focused upon one thing. Her duty to the jungle, and how no child deserved to have the life she had had, or one that could potentially be worse. Perhaps she was not even pregnant and this whole speech and moment of discovery was a non-issue...but the witch would rather be safe than sorry, and finding the shrine of the Bear Mother seemed too close of sign to ignore at this juncture in her life.

by **Tinnok** on November 21st, 2013, 4:19 pm

Dawn rose slowly, and because of Tinnok's position upon the hillock, cleared from trees, her eyes flashed open as the first pin pricks of light stabbed into her retina.

"Ermm..." She had fallen asleep, back against the rock wall, and a giant pain lanced down her neck and shoulders from maintaining such a position overnight. The witch massaged her shoulders, keeping her eyes shut and head averted to Syna's light, slowly rising above the trees. When some of the soreness had been worked out, the half breed stood, making sure the ashes of her fire were fully extinguished, slowly restoring her things into her pack, and taking a long meditative drink of her water flask. She paced around the rock wall, glancing again at the ruins, and opening her journal. Perhaps this wall would crumble in the face of time, but she had the story that was upon it, at least most of it, which meant she could tell it to others, and pass it on. Perhaps that had been the original purpose of the story wall, and it's location had merely been lost in the annals of time. Perhaps there were more scattered around the jungle wilds, also slowly being consumed by all there was. Part of that made the witch sorrowful, but again, it spoke of the nature of the wilds, and that these historical artifacts would return to the earth from whence they came, perhaps it was more poetic than sad.

Tinnok approached one of the bear statues, lying her palm upon its head. "I do not know if you heard me, Bear Mother, but I will remember your name, and it will join my prayers to the great Goddesses that guide me through this life. Thank you."

Shouldering her pack Tinnok strode off over the hill and back into the thick forests that surrounded the small vale. She had a long journey before her, and it was time to continue it. Despite the heaviness that still weighed upon her, she felt it alleviated, at least somewhat, and that put the barest twinge of a smile upon her lips as she walked.

by **Empyrean** on December 23rd, 2013, 7:54 pm

Grading in progress!

by **Empyrean** on December 25th, 2013, 3:13 am

Discovering the Ursine.

Tinnok

Acrobatics	+1
Climbing	+2
Morphing	+1
Observation	+2
Philosophy	+3
Running	+1
Writing	+2
Reading	+2
Wilderness Survival	+1
Foraging	+1
Reimancy	+1
Cooking	+1

Lores :

Notes :

Solo Discovering the Ursine